ABB Wins Aluminum Project in Canada


Power and automation to improve overall productivity and energy efficiency

Houston, TX - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order from Aluminerie Alouette to deliver power and automation solutions and engineering services for its smelter in Quebec, Canada. ABB's solutions will provide greater operational flexibility and productivity on both pot lines, and improved overall energy efficiency for the smelter. The order was booked in the first quarter of 2010.

Aluminerie Alouette is the largest aluminum smelter in the Americas and the fifth largest in the world. It produces about 575,000 metric tons of primary aluminum ingots per year.

ABB will supply a turnkey rectifier / transformer package that includes a DC bus system, integration with existing controls/Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, as well as engineering, installation and commissioning services. The project will be executed by ABB's Aluminium Execution Center based in Montreal, Canada.

The new rectifier system is scheduled to be fully operational in August 2011.

"This order reflects Aluminerie Alouette's confidence in our integrated solutions for control, plant optimization, and application know-how," said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB's Process Automation division. "Our goal is to help Alouette increase productivity and energy efficiencies while reducing overall costs."

ABB's Aluminum Execution Center is strategically located in Montreal to serve its North American customers. Its turnkey solutions include integrated strategies, engineering, supply, construction, management, and service.

The Aluminerie Alouette consortium comprises five shareholders: Rio Tinto Alcan, Canada (40%), Austria Metall, Austria (20%), Hydro Aluminium, Norway (20%), la Société générale de financement du Québec (13.33%) et Marubeni, Japan (6.67%).

ABB's Process Automation division delivers integrated automation solutions for control, plant optimization, and industry-specific application knowledge and services to help process industry customers worldwide meet their critical business needs in the areas of operational profitability, capital productivity, risk management and global responsibility. These industries include oil and gas, power, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, metals, minerals, cement, marine and turbocharging.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people.

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